Chapterr 53: Introductions (2) (Patreon)

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“Aurora.”  She introduced herself.  “Aurora Candrian Vetilian.  Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

I heard Kyrian take in a sharp breath.

“House Vetilius?”  He muttered, more to himself rather than asking a question but everyone heard him in the ensuing nonetheless.  “Here? In Jayu?”

Even Dibo, who had struck me as more even-tempered of the group, had an expression of open disapproval towards Aurora.  He stroked his beard while speaking, “Had I known that a Scion of one of the Great Houses would be here…”

I saw him trade a look with Pyret.

So those two were in cahoots with each other.

“This was not part of the agreement.”  Pyret strode forward, bristling with anger. 

I saw that Baran and Sarai –the elven archer and mage siblings– had gotten into some kind of formation without anyone noticing.  

Baran was kneeling on the dirt, his bow not quite drawn but ready to be aimed.  Sarai, his sister, stood behind him pretending not to be doing anything but I saw her fingers twitching.  Meanwhile, Forma and Trevor were in a similar stance as the elven siblings, with the large priest all the way in the back behind his entire party.  Hurgrin was gone.

Holy crap, in the blink of a second the six Eretians were in formation.  Pyret at the front with his shield, the archers protecting the mage and priest, and finally Hurgrin had somehow escaped my senses.  I could tell that these guys were used to fighting against other adventurers and were fast.  But instead of being scared, I could only marvel at their synchronized movements.

“So this is the level of their party.”

“What are you suggesting?”  Eltis’ husky voice floated over to Pyret.  I saw the man glance at her and visibly struggle to tear his eye off of her.  

She wasn’t just a regular Priestess, but a priestess from the church of Nine.  Nine the elven goddess had nine faces.

Gluttony.  Greed.  Lust.  Wrath  Despair.  Apathy.  Envy.  Hubris.  Arrogance.

I didn’t need to guess to know which sect the elven priestess belonged to.  

“We kick her off and go into the Fracture ourselves.”  Pyret suggested.

“Now that’d be fun.”  Track, the feline swordsman, commented.

“Out of the question.”  I slashed the air with my hand for emphasis.  “The Fracture is meant to have fifteen adventurers; going in with fourteen is suicide.”  

I wasn’t just bluffing, I was being serious.  Though if I was in charge, we could probably manage it with ten.  However, the chances of me ending up in charge of this crew was slim to none.  If my guess was correct, Pyret and Dibo already had an agreement on who’d end up calling the shots for this raid.  My money was on Pyret, he had the best balanced party out of everyone here.

Tank, two DPS, Mage and Healer.

“Then I’ll call in a friend.”  He shrugged.  “There’s plenty-”

“No.”  I answered back.

I hadn’t expected them to be aggressive so soon; I thought they’d wait until we were inside the fracture.  But they were already trying to kick out someone from Miltus and trying to replace it with one of their own.  No matter how much I thought about it, it was way too convenient that Pyret came prepared to replace one of our own members like this.  That led me to one conclusion.

They knew about us from the get-go.  They knew about Aurora and came prepared to pick a fight with us over her name.

But us from Miltus couldn’t lose her.  Then it’d be eleven against four in the Fracture, impossible odds.  That wasn’t a risk, it was jumping into the ocean in handcuffs with a cinderblock tied around my waist.

Either way, they threw the first metaphorical punch.  Unless we could punch back they’d push us around inside the fracture the entire time.

I looked at Eltis expectedly.  I knew myself, I wasn’t the most gifted talker.  Perhaps she could-

The priestess smiled back and winked.  Then rolled her eyes towards Pyret.

The fuck?

I quickly realized that she wasn’t going to offer any help.  Instead I look at Aurora, the gray-haired beauty.

“Do you have anything to say?”

Aurora’s mannerisms ran parallel with her statuesque looks; flawless, unchanging and inflexible.

“If that is how they feel, I apologize but I’m afraid there’s nothing I could do about my name.  You are all correct in assuming that I am a bastard of House Vetilius, one of the Great Houses of the Turina Empire.  Your fears are not unfounded, all Scions, legitimate or illegitimate, have been used as tools for Turina Expansion in the past and in the present.  I presume that it will continue into the future.”

Then she turned her green eyes on me.

…The FUCK?

I took a breath and stayed calm.

“I will not go into the Fracture with a Scion of one of the Great Houses, especially after what happened to the Samak Horde.  We all know how that ended.”  Pyret muttered and Forma nodded, glaring daggers at us.

Track just looked amused, watching from afar.

Pyret was the main opposition here, I had to either press him hard enough to relent or force Dibo to take my side using reason.

“Thisss isss ridiculous, you bark like dogssss afraid of one warrior when there are ten of you.”  Skaris hissed, looking at Pyret then Dibo.  “If you are afraid, then sssstay out.  We will enter the Fracture oursssselves.”

Track’s eyes narrowed and Pyret actually took a step forward, like he was about to lunge at him.  Calling adventurers a coward to their face was enough to have blood drawn in some circles.

Besides, Skaris didn’t know what he was talking about.  If those ten didn’t enter with us then-

“Skaris you genius bastard.”  I had to change my tactics.

“Maybe we will.”  I said out loud.

Kyrian caught on.  “We’re wasting time here Lock.  We should move.”

Pyret looked dumbfounded.  “What?”

“You heard me.”  I took a step out to meet Pyret in the middle.  “You and your party can stay here.  Us, the adventurers from Miltus, will take on the Fracture.  Alone.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”  He hissed, his red hair and piercings making him look more menacing than he actually was.  “It’d be suicide.”

“Mister Lock-”  Aurora’s perfectly poised voice began.

I pointed at the manacle scars on my neck, cutting her off and looking Pyret straight in the eyes. “Been through worse.”

I was taking a risk here.  They could all just turn back and call my bluff.  There was no way that the five of us from Miltus could take on the Fracture ourselves and everyone knew it.  If the ten of them turned away, then I couldn’t be sure that Eltis or Aurora would stay either.

But it was a Fracture.

And these Eretians were adventurers.

I knew Fractures.  I knew adventurers.  Fractures presented opportunities for growth and wealth; a call more irresistible than a siren’s for adventurers.

I saw Pyret lick his lips.

He was weighing the pros and cons.  He could call my bluff, but if it wasn’t; we’d enter the Fracture and it’d soon close after.  There was a time limit on how long the Fracture Dungeon would stay open after the first participant entered.  Then it would stay closed; regardless of whether we completed the Dungeon or not, until then next time when it would open randomly.

Even if we all died, they’d lose a precious opportunity.

Pyret was greedy.  All adventurers were.

But Pyret wasn’t the only adventurer here, was he?

“What say you, Dibo? Track?”  I addressed the two.  “I’m willing to get in there without Pyret’s party.  Less heads, better odds for drawing lots for a Core or Plurality.”

I shrugged.  “Who knows, maybe a Splinter.”

Track’s eerie cat-eyes stared at me.  Then he broke into a smile.  

“Could be fun.  Challenging even.  Never been inside a Fracture with less people than it allowed.”

One down.

“Dibo?”  I faced the elderly elven wizard.  

Ramhof and Krag remained silent.  I assumed they weren’t here for wealth but for the same reason Eltis was; the Guildmaster had called in a favor with the local church.  Except for Ramhof and Krag, it seemed to be based more on friendship with Dibo than anything else.

Dibo stroked his beard a moment longer, glancing sideways at Pyret who was glaring too hard at Track to catch it.

I stifled a smile.  

I never bought Trevor’s story that Dibo and Track were tagalongs to their party.

Ten adventurers? Working together and sharing loot like they were old-time friends?

If that happened, Skaris could grow wings and I’d call him a dragon.

Things like that could only happen with absolute trust in each other or under one individual with absolute strength over the others.  Pyret and Dibo treated each other with the awkwardness of two partnering business CEOs, unsure who was going to take the lead and when.  I’d seen it often enough when I was a kid.  No, the Eretian Guildmaster had screwed up.

Too many cooks in the kitchen wasn’t a good thing.

If I were the guildmaster in Eretia, I’d have stuck Pyret with some nobodies.  But most likely there were some more politics at play which got Track and Dibo into the raid.

Track and Dibo and Pyret.

Aggravating the three, causing internal stride and turning them against each other was the key to getting out of this Fracture alive.

Dibo was taking too long for my liking, I didn’t want anyone else getting their two cents in.

“Beware an old man in a profession men die young.”  I quoted, I’d seen it used in webnovels more than once so I had it memorized.  “Don’t tell me you got to that age without risking your neck once.”

The wizard sighed.  “You play your cards well, sir Lock.  Indeed, this is an opportunity that we cannot turn down.”

He gave a meaningful look at Pyret.  The swordsman scowled.

“Fine.”  He jabbed a finger into my chest, in my blindspot.  “But we’re keeping an eye on her.  One wrong move and she gets an arrow through her back.”

“Sure.”  I whispered.

Then before anyone could react, I reached behind me and grabbed the Hurgrin’s wrist; twisting his shoulder and forcing him to the ground in front of me.  I placed a foot on the middle of his back and jerked.  Much to my chagrin, the dwarf rogue didn’t let out a single yelp of pain.  My mother, the greedy and driven woman that she was, often told me if money didn’t buy you happiness; it meant you didn’t have enough of it.

So I twisted harder and leaned into his back, feeling a satisfying crack.

Cra-cra-crack.

He groaned in pain.

I stopped just short of breaking it.

He definitely had some kind of stealth based Core ability, but it was a cheap one or I’d never have been able to smell him.  I resisted the urge to smile as his ability flow into me.

｢ [Sadistic Kleptomania] has stolen [Gnome’s Blessing] ｣

The dwarf had remained invisible the entire time I was twisting his arm.  But now that his ability was stolen, his form became visible sections at a time.

“What are you-?!”  Pyret hissed in surprise when Hurgrin appeared, seemingly out of thin air.

“And tell your rogue to stop sneaking around behind my back.”  I could smell the metal coming off of Hurgrin’s many daggers.  “Or I’m taking an arm next time.”

I noticed Track was grinning ear to ear and his eyes were glued to me.

Then I released the dwarf and he rolled forward, rubbing the shoulder that I had twisted.  

“Oh my,”  My enhanced hearing picked up Eltis’ voice, slightly deeper than before, “I think I’m in love.”

“Saw him first.”  Track muttered and I doubted anyone who had a [Hearing] stat lower than mine heard it.

Besides the two, I saw all the other adventurers staring at me with varying degrees of reactions.

Their comments scared me, though for completely different reasons.

I turned around before I changed my mind about this whole raid, towards the road leading away from Miltus.  “If we are all in agreement, let’s go.  We’re not too far from the Fracture.”

“Oh-ho…”  I heard Dibo gasp from behind me.

I felt Kyrian and Skaris naturally fall in line with me.  I resisted the urge to look back but could imagine that Track walked by himself, while Dibo and Pyret should have some distance between each other now.

“Finally, sssso much work to enter the dungeon.”  Skaris muttered, just between himself, Kyrian and I. “Isss it alwayssss like thisss?”

Kyrian shook his head.  “Turina was a bit… different.  More organized.  Less anarchy.  But I believe you did well there, Lock.”

“Thanks.”  I kept my voice low, keeping my ears open.  “But keep an eye out.  This won’t be the last time they try something.”

“Who? The Vetilius? The Priestess of the Nine?”

“What can you tell me about the Priestess? She’s…”  I couldn’t find the right word.  I had told them my experience with Snow White but it had been so surreal, so fast that I couldn’t convey the weight of how traumatizing it was for me.

“Ssstay away.”  Skaris warned.  “Rumorsss of the Nine, the elven Goddesssss issss not a kind one, Ssslaveborn.”

“Rumors and only rumors.  But suppsoedly, kidnapping.  Brainwashing.  Human Sacrificing.  Removing your Cores against your will.”  Kyrian shrugged.  “The usual cult.”

I gave Kyrian the side-eye.  “Are you… religious?”

“No.”  He admitted.  “But wise enough to recognize a dangerous organization when I see one.  The Church in Turina isn’t the beacon of shining hope it once was, but at least it protects the citizens.  As for the Chruch of the Nine… like I said, rumors and rumors only.  But I imagine there must be some basis to them.”

I wanted to ask more about the Churches but that wasn’t necessary information right now; there were too many things I needed to pick the mage’s brain on.

“What do you guys think about Aurora?”

“Ssstrong.”  Skaris actually turned his head back and I presumed he looked at Aurora.  The man was a fighter worth his weight in gold but he had 0 social tact to speak of.

“Perhapsssss asss ssstrong assss you and me.”  Skaris tilted his head to the side.  “The beassstman too.  Among the warriorssss, us four are the strongesssst.”

“Not Pyret?”  I knew it was a waste of time to even ask, but I wanted to hear Skaris rip into the man.

“Not bad, but lacking.”  He shrugged.  “He wassssn’t bad when he tessssted your eyesssight.  You did a good job not flinching, he issss sssstill unsure.”

“Conniving bastard.”

Kyrian brought us back to the topic.  “The Great Houses don’t have bastards.  Not officially, no.  But there are few that run about Turina, claiming they are.  Few are seldom found to be speaking the truth.  Usually there is no relation or the blood is so diluted they can’t even be admitted into the Branch Houses.”

I kept my mouth shut during his talk about the bastards.  I was still new to this ‘friend’ thing and didn’t trust myself not to say the wrong thing.  Skaris just listened as well.

“But… There is no reason for her to lie.  This is far from Turina where the name of the Great Houses bring you power.  But as we all just saw, it only brings danger.”  Kyrian finished by saying, “She doesn’t strike me as a liar.”

“I thought the same.  Tell me about the Vetilius house a little.  Fighting style?”

“Defenders and Shielders.  The whole family are Knights.  Every single one of their Scions know how to use Aura, at least the ones old enough.”  Kyrian’s voice gained a hint of respect and envy.  “They are the proud shields of Turina.”

“...Did you want me to be a Knight before?”

“It is every kid’s dream to be a Knight.”  Kyrian answered back.  “But alas, magecraft always suited me better.”

Any race that took on the class of Mage or Priest couldn’t unlock their racial traits.  That meant Kyrian would never be able to use [Aura], one of the defining traits of a human adventurer.  Then again, that meant Arione would never be able to use the elven racial trait either.  I used to think of it as a simple balancing issue put in place by the developers.

But now that I can use [Mana Sense] to a degree… there was only so much resource that the body could contain before it broke down.  I instinctively knew that Kyrian could use [Aura] for a short time, but the price would be death or at the best case scenario; ending up as a cripple.  I knew it in my head and heart the same way I knew the sun was up and the ground was down.

“Lock, we need to get a moment to convene with Sister Eltis and Lady Aurora.”

“I know but I can’t just be so blatant about it, Pyret and Bido willl try something.  I just know it.”  

“They will try ssssomething anywaysss. They already have tried ssssomething.”

“Yes but… no one’s really openly sided against Miltus or against Eretia yet.”  I explained.  “The spat from before can be attributed to just different party’s negotiating against each other… but if we openly side with Eltis and Aurora, it could be taken as us purposefully splitting up the members of this raid who are all supposed to be working together.”

As I was talking, I was reminded of how Eltis had just winked and smiled at me instead of helping.  Had the elven priestess seen this far ahead?  Even me, I had only realized it in the midst of talking with Kyrian and Skaris.  If that priestess truly foresaw this far ahead, she could be a powerful ally.

“It needs to be subtle.  Of course they’ll see it, but we have to do it in a way where they can’t try to voice their opinions about it.”  I finished.

“I do not enjoy thesssse gamesss.”  

Before I could answer, Forma’s flat voice alerted us.

“Ahead of us.”  The archer said to all of us.  “The Fracture.”

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